How to Do a Catch Cup Test on Your Sprinklers
A catch cup test takes about 24 cups and 5 to 20 minutes per zone. This guide shows how to turn the cup depths into precipitation rate, uniformity and run time, and how to fix poor results.
Sprinkler Guides
How to test your sprinklers, measure what each zone really applies, and set run times and controllers so your lawn gets the right amount of water.
Written by Daniel Reeves, PE, CID, a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Irrigation Designer. Every figure is sourced and checked against our methodology.
All sprinkler guides
Newest first.
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Smart Sprinkler Controllers: Are They Worth It?
Smart controllers save about 6% to 15% of outdoor water for typical homes and 40% or more for heavy irrigators, but only if you overwater today. This guide gives the payback math and how to check your own ratio.
What these guides cover
Most sprinkler advice assumes your system applies the water its labels say it does. In practice heads wear, pressure varies and coverage is uneven, so two zones with the same run time can put down very different amounts of water. Measuring what your sprinklers really apply is the first step to watering less and keeping the lawn healthy.
These guides cover how to test a zone with catch cups (about 24 cups and 5 to 20 minutes per zone), how to turn the results into precipitation rate, uniformity and run time, and whether a smart controller will actually save water at your property. Each one cites university extension and EPA WaterSense research and links to the matching sprinkler calculators.
Sprinkler calculators
Put the guides into numbers for your own sprinkler system.
- Sprinkler precipitation rate calculatorInches per hour from your sprinkler output
- Catch can test calculatorRate and uniformity from your cup readings
- Distribution uniformity calculatorScore how evenly a zone waters
- Cycle and soak calculatorSplit run times to stop runoff
- Seasonal adjustment calculatorAdjust run times through the season
- Scheduling coefficient calculatorAdjust run time for uneven coverage
Find the right calculator
Browse every irrigation and watering calculator by category, or tell us about a tool you'd like us to build.